The Untypical Parent Podcast

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In this short series, parents in neurodivergent families tell us what it's really like. In this episode Laura explains "parenting in a neurodivergent family is like riding a bike with a flat tyre, with a blindfold on, one hand tied behind your back… oh and I just realised the other wheel fell off". 

If this episode rings true leave a message in the comments to let other parents know they aren't alone. 

If you'd like to contribute to the show please just leave a comment and you could have an based around your comment. 

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In this episode, Laura Kerbey, author and founder of PAST (Positive Assessments, Support and Training), shares her lived experience of growing up undiagnosed with ADHD, and how that shaped not only her childhood but adulthood and parenthood as well.

Laura talks honestly about how deeply she wanted to be a parent, alongside how challenging parenting felt while living with undiagnosed ADHD and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD). She opens up about the overwhelm, the self-doubt, and the low moments, but also the joy that came with it.

Laura talks about how she and her boys have built a strong, trusting relationship, the kind of relationship so many parents hope for, and what helped her move from survival mode to understanding, compassion, and connection.

I am so grateful to Laura for sharing so openly how she experienced things. This is a raw, validating conversation for parents who feel like parenting is overwhelming them, they should be doing better, and who need reminding that they are not failing.

 Find Laura Online

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• PAST website: https://p-ast.co.uk/
  
  

Books by Laura Kerbey (Mentioned in This Episode)

• The Parents’ and Professionals’ Simple Guide to PDA
  Laura Kerbey & Eliza Fricker
• The Kids’ Simple Guide to PDA
  Laura Kerbey
• The Teen’s Guide to PDA
  Laura Kerbey & Eliza Fricker
• The (Slightly Distracted) Woman’s Guide to Living with an Adult ADHD Diagnosis
  Laura Kerbey & Eliza Fricker
• The Educator’s Experience of Pathological Demand Avoidance
  An illustrated guide to PDA and learning — Laura Kerbey

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In this bonus episode of The Untypical Parent Podcast, I admit something slightly embarrassing: I dropped a ball… a Christmas-shaped ball. Somewhere between broken legs, work deadlines, end-of-term chaos, questionable diary scheduling, and trying to remember if we own wrapping paper (I can't find any and the shops have sold out), I genuinely thought Christmas was still 1.5 weeks away. (It isn’t.)

So, let’s talk about the mental load, especially in neurodivergent families. If your brain feels like an open browser with 86 tabs running, you’re in the right place.

In this episode, I share:

• how juggling life as a neurodivergent family can make dates slide right past you,
• why parents feel extra pressure at Christmas,
• how “dropping a ball” doesn’t make you a bad parent (it makes you a human one),
• simple strategies to survive the festive season without combusting,
• and why self-compassion should be top of the shopping list.

We chat about lists (and forgetting to look at them), boundaries with family gatherings, tiny adjustments that make big differences, and the power of just stepping outside for a breather when things get a bit much.

Key Takeaways

• Neurodivergent parenting = Olympic-level multitasking.
• Christmas adds bonus pressure, lights, noise, lists… and more lists.
• Feeling unprepared is completely normal (especially this week).
• List-making genuinely helps, if you remember where you put the list.
• Communicating boundaries with family can save your sanity.
• Tiny changes > giant expectations.
• Breaks aren’t weaknesses; they’re survival tools.
• You don’t have to “do it all” to be a good parent.
• Looking back brings perspective; looking forward brings hope.

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Untypical Parenting One Year On

The best stories start where the script stops working. Marking a full year of The Untypical Parent Podcast, we sit down with two people who helped shape it from day one, Charlotte from Badger Education, my first-ever guest, and Sam, from Something Profound, the first sponsor, to explore what it really takes to raise neurodivergent kids without a rulebook. This is a celebration, yes, but it’s mostly an unfiltered look at brave choices, messy progress, and the surprising wins that rarely make it into glossy parenting advice.

We dig into the heart of “doing it differently”: stepping away from social norms when they don’t serve your child, surviving the dread of school phone calls and local authority emails, and finding strength in a community that refuses to pretend everything is fine. You’ll hear how Charlotte reframed untypical parenting as courage in action, why Sam chose to pull her daughter from school, and how honest phrases like “we’re figuring this out together” can lower the temperature in hard moments. Along the way we talk sensory regulation that works in real life, running, texture rituals, movement, and small routines that calm busy brains.

There’s plenty of laughter, too. From coaching a bra fitting through a changing-room door to a disastrous upside-down roller coaster, we celebrate family humour as co-regulation and connection. We unpack the mental load behind dinner decisions, the secret superpower of finding lost things, and the micro-milestones that matter: a shorter outburst, a new food tried, a trip that softens a phobia. These stories don’t claim perfection; they show progress you can feel.

If you’re parenting outside the lines, or love someone who is, this anniversary episode offers practical empathy, relatable stories, and a reminder that small steps add up. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs to feel seen today, and leave a review to help other untypical families find us.

Badger Education: Facebook and Instagram

Something Profound: Facebook and Instagram

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What if “perfect” parenting is the wrong goal, and honest repair is the real superpower? I sit down with David, the Dad behind NeuroDad’s Diary, to explore what changes when a late ADHD diagnosis reframes years of anxiety, overwhelm, and self-critique. He shares how sensory triggers, bedtime chaos, and the relentless unpredictability of young kids land in a neurodivergent nervous system.

We unpack the invisible load many neurodivergent parents carry: the thoughts you bottle during meltdowns and the guilt that piles up when you can’t process in the moment. David’s therapy-informed micro-journaling—quick notes you revisit later—turns swirling stress into a map you can actually navigate. We also talk masking as a parent: when to contain, when to be real, and why repairs matter more than flawless reactions.

David names the isolation many fathers feel at parent groups, the stigma that says men shouldn’t struggle, and the logistics that make support hard to access. He’s candid about burnout, seasonal lows, and the rituals that help him reset—decompression time, honest check-ins with his partner, and knowing when to tag out.

If you’re a neurodivergent parent—or love one—this is the episode for you. Listen, share with a dad who needs to hear this, and if it resonates, please follow podcast and leave a review so more families can find the support they deserve.

You can find David here on Instagram - neurodadsdiary

We also spoke about David's t-shirt on the podcast, so here is a shout-out to Born Anxious. You can also find them on Instagram here

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In this episode I sit down with Steph Simpson, a late-identified ADHD mom on a pathway for autism assessment, to explore how a simple language shift—calling ADHD “squirrels” and autism “penguins”—reshaped her family’s daily life. Instead of labels that freeze kids in place, her home uses playful cues to redirect with warmth. When she glitches mid-task, a quiet “Mom, squirrels” brings her back without shame. The same approach helps her children navigate transitions, toothbrushing, and sensory overload.

Steph takes us through the emotional whiplash of diagnosis: the relief of being seen, the shock of a double whammy, and the end of the “I’m making it up” refrain. 

We also dive into her book, Squirrels, Odd Socks and Side Quests—born as a manual for her husband and now a neurodiversity-affirming series. Bite-sized chapters, black-and-white illustrations for colouring, hidden squirrels for fidgety focus, it’s built for real brains in real homes. 

Steph closes with the habits that anchor her parenting: model the mess, own the repair, and let kids watch you be kind to yourself so they learn to do the same.

If you’re navigating ADHD, autism, masking, or just the relentless side quests of family life, this conversation offers language, tools, and a gentler way to measure progress. Listen, share with a friend who needs the reframe, and leave a review to help more families find us.

You can connect with Steph on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SquirrelSideQuests

And you can find her book in places like Amazon.

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What happens when your carefully planned parenting journey takes an unexpected turn? For Archie, specialist ADHD nurse prescriber and director of ADHD Care Limited, raising a neurodivergent child meant learning to embrace a completely different path than the one he'd imagined.

This deeply honest conversation explores the complexity of neurodivergent family life through both professional expertise and raw personal experience. Archie shares his journey raising an autistic/ADHD, 10-year-old son, alongside a 6-year-old neurotypical daughter, describing the unique challenges this creates for siblings, marriages, and personal identity. With refreshing candour, he dismantles the myth of perfect parenting and reveals how even mental health professionals struggle with adaptation.

Archie talks gently about having a neurodivergent child is a bit like planning a trip to Italy but having your plane diverted to Amsterdam – all your preparations suddenly irrelevant as you navigate unfamiliar territory. This metaphor beautifully captures the emotional adjustment parents face, not abandoning dreams but reimagining them in unexpected contexts.

The conversation delves into practical strategies too – from managing morning micro-transitions to creating dedicated spaces where fathers can openly discuss parenting challenges. Archie's perspective as a dad brings much-needed balance to conversations often dominated by maternal voices, highlighting how men frequently lack opportunities to express vulnerability around parenting struggles.

Whether you're raising neurodivergent children or simply wanting to better understand those who do, this episode offers profound insights about acceptance, self-compassion, and finding support in unexpected places. As Archie reminds us, "You're doing better than you think" – words every parent occasionally needs to hear.

You can find Archie here: 

On Instagram and via his podcast here 

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I sit down with Sam Milburn to unpack body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), what it is, why it hides in plain sight, and how parents can spot early signs. We share practical next steps, from navigating CAMHS to using scripts that break reassurance loops without breaking trust.

We cover:
• BDD defined 
• Early signs in teens including checking, avoidance and reassurance seeking
• Why shame and lack of insight delay help and fuel misdiagnosis
• The impact at home, school and with friends
• Is there a neurodivergence overlap
• How to approach schools, GPs and CAMHS with evidence
• Parent scripts to step off the reassurance treadmill
• And resources from the BDD Foundation and Sam’s support group

You can find information about BDD and the support Sam offers here:

https://bddfoundation.org/

https://www.beyondbdd.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beyond_bdd/

And Sam's Facebook group Body Dysmorphic Disorder Support for Parents and Carers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bddcarersupport/

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Kathy Wassell, CEO and founder of the Autistic Girls Network Charity, talks with me about her journey creating supportive spaces for neurodivergent individuals, particularly women and girls who are often missed in traditional diagnostic pathways.

What began as a simple online community has blossomed into a charity serving over 32,000 members, providing training to schools, and offering vital support to neurodivergent girls and non binary people across the UK in a variety of ways.

We dive into a range of topics, such as diagnosis and why recognition matters. The launch of the Haven online school designed specifically for neurodivergent girls and non-binary young people who struggle in traditional educational settings. And of course, we talk about autistic girls, women and non-binary people.

You can find more information about the Autistic Girls Network here:

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Cathy's book: 

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What actually is PDA?

Speech and language therapist Libby Hill cuts through the confusion with clarity and compassion, drawing on decades of clinical experience and her work with leading PDA researchers.

"There's demand avoidance, and then there's PDA," Libby explains, highlighting the crucial differences that parents and professionals often miss. While many children resist external demands for logical reasons—sensory discomfort, lack of interest, or burnout—true PDA involves an illogical resistance even to things the person wants to do. This distinction isn't just academic; it fundamentally changes how we should support these children.


Libby and I discuss the struggles parents face when it comes to PDA. The shame, isolation, and burnout experienced when supporting a child or young person with a PDA profile. "Who do you confide in?" she asks, highlighting how parents frequently suffer in silence, afraid to share their reality even with close family. 

Whether you're a parent seeking answers, a professional enhancing your knowledge, or someone who suspects they might have a PDA profile themselves, this conversation provides invaluable insights. 

People and support that were discussed in the episode:

Sally Cat: https://www.facebook.com/SallyCatPDA

PDA Society website: https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/ and helpline: https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/support-and-training/

Libby mentions the PDA practice guidelines which you can find here: https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/research-professional-practice/identification-and-diagnosis-process/

You can find Libby here: 

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

And her new book "Born Naughty"

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